Detroit — The envelope, please. . .

The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards unveiled the 2026 model year winners Wednesday to open the Detroit Auto Show.

Winner of Car of Year went to the Dodge Charger. Truck of the Year honors went to the Ford Maverick Lobo. And the Hyundai Palisade took home the Utility of the Year crown.

The awards were presented on stage at the soaring Atrium space in Huntington Place Convention Center.

Fifty jurors (including the author of this article) from U.S. and Canadian media outlets selected the finalists after testing 30 nominees across all categories, 19 of them SUVs. Of the nine finalists, two were electric with an average price of $46,248 across the three categories. The $96.5k Gravity was the most expensive nominee, the $23.4k Sentra the cheapest.

In the car category, the Charger and Prelude marked the return of sexy, legendary badges. Detroit’s sentimental favorite was the $51,990 Charger Sixpack (so named for its inline-6 cylinder engine), reborn for ‘26 after the previous, V8-powered generation exited the market in 2023 dogged by federal emissions regulations. The gas-powered Charger shares a stable with the electric Charger Daytona EV. Dressed in a throwback, 1960s coke-bottle wardrobe, the hatchback Charger Sixpack boasts a more refined chassis and interior over predecessors.

For the first time since 2001, Prelude is back with a different mission. As its badge implies, the sporty, $43,195 coupe is a prelude to Honda’s future. The Japanese automaker is leaning into gas-electric hybrids and hatchback Prelude is a Civic-based, hybrid halo as the brand moves to full electrification next decade.

The $23,645 compact Sentra sedan is an affordable option at a time when the average price for a new vehicle is over 50 grand. With twin, hoodless digital screens and wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, Sentra has premium looks for its budget price.

Ram had two nominees for the Truck Wars with its refreshed, light-duty 1500 and heavy-duty 2500 pickups.

A steep drop in temperatures overnight and snow has caused icy road conditions for much of southeastern Wisconsin for the morning commute Wednesday, Jan. 14.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Jan. 14 across most of southern and southeast Wisconsin, as far north as Sheboygan County in the east and Sauk and Adams counties in the west. The advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m.

Cameron Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, said there have been multiple reports of accidents around the area.

“It was kind of a perfect storm, honestly. The combination of the snow that we had in the roads, warm pavement temperature and then air temperatures quickly falling from the 30s into the low 20s, basically caused conditions that were conducive to icing on the road,” he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s traveler information website, 511wi.gov, showed several reports of accidents in Milwaukee and surrounding areas as of 8 a.m. Jan. 14.

The snow should let up around mid-morning, Miller said. Snow accumulation in the Milwaukee area Wednesday, Jan. 14 is not expected to be more than a few tenths of an inch – just a dusting, Miller said.

Another round of snow is forecast to move in the night of Thursday, Jan. 15, and continue through Saturday, Jan. 17.

“It’s going to be a long-duration snow event. So it’s going to be basically white snow throughout that entire time, and really only going to be a couple of inches of accumulation,” Miller said.

Miller said the precipitation later in the week will likely not bring any more winter weather advisories. Icing should be less of a problem, as temperatures are expected to stay below freezing in the coming days.

Wisconsin weather radar

Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.

From high school students to elected officials, residents in Minnesota are pushing back against the growing deployment of federal immigration officers in their neighborhoods, leading to days of confrontations and protests.

Resident Neph Sudduth stopped to choke back tears as she witnessed immigration officers roaming around her neighborhood, just a few blocks from the site where an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good last week, and clashing with protesters.

“They will hurt you for real! They will hurt you for real!” she shouted at anti-ICE demonstrators, urging them to move away from the officers’ vehicles. Just then, an immigration officer rolled down his window, extended his arm and sprayed a protester point-blank in the face with a chemical agent.

Read the full story here.